Anyone have exp. w/ male cat urinary blockage?

[2BigKIdz]

My 5 year old male (neutered) has been in the emergency vet hospital since Sunday afternoon with a blockage in his urinary tract. He is doing okay now but still has a catheter and iv's. I have to pick him up this morning and take him to the regular vet to be observed another day or so. Just wondering if anyone has gone through this with a male cat and what I can expect. I know they are giving me a special diet for him. Really worried about leaving him for a planned weekend away in two weeks, our nephew (21 yr old) will house sit but is not the most observant person in the world.

Also, I'm looking at a bill close to $1500 is this a normal price? I was really shocked that it was costing so much, more than tumor removal surgery for my dogs!

 

[Planogirl]

One of our cats had this problem a few years ago and almost died. He pulled through but the bill was quite high as I recall. He spent the weekend and a few extra days at the vet's and that added up quickly. Was your cat at the vet's for several days? If you're concerned I'm sure that you can get a breakdown of the charges.

Our cat eats Purina perscription dry cat food especially made for cats with urinary problems. I mix it with just a bit of regular dry food to make it more appetizing and he eats it even if kind of reluctantly. He's done fine since his bout with the blockage and I don't worry too much about leaving him. If you're concerned, does your vet board animals? Mine doesn't unfortunately.

ETA: Oops you said he was at the vet's since Sunday (yesterday?). That does seem expensive but some of the vets are. I would check the bill and ask for more detail if it isn't broken down.

 

[hugsquared]

Yep...ours had it and it cost us a bundle. He was on IV's and cathed for a while, got better then got sick again and they told us they would have to operate...was gonna cost mega bucks. We ended up taking him to Auburn University School of Veterinary Medicine where they did the surgery and recovery for a $100 flat fee. If you have a local Vet School, I would check it out next time. We told the reg vet that after what we had just paid, we would have to have him put down because we just couldn't afford it (we were newly weds and living on a really tight budget). He put us in touch with the school. Unfortunately, Joe (the cat) was never right after that. Started peeing in places besides his litterbox...even peed on my hubby (had to laugh at that one)
Good luck and I hope he's okay now.

 

[Disney Ella]

That cost sounds about right. My cat has had two blockages and one surgery for bladder stones. The last one was our fault. My DH thought the cat was fat and since he hadn't had a blockage for years, he didn't need to be on the CD food anymore. He got the cat different food for older cats. Two months later, our cat was in surgery. I didn't think it was a good idea at the time and wish I had protested more. So never, ever change the food they give you!

Hope your cat feels better soon!

 

[Tiggeroo]

Just got the cat out a couple weeks ago for this. He was in the vets for 5 nights. Bill was $800 plus the 150. deposit we put down. The original estimate was 450. with a 4 night stay. We were shocked. And they kept saying surgery was a possibility. There was no way I could afford the surgery after that bill. Plus I had heard that alot of cats aren't right after the surgery.
Again it's my fault. My last cat had this problem. I should have known when I got another male cat he should only be on the urinary tract food. Even the purina seems to do the trick.

 

[Virgo10]

One of our cats, who has since passed on from old age, had a partial blockage first and then a total one. With the latter, he was in the hospital for 3 days I think (this was a number of years ago) and the bill was around $500.

We have a cat now who had several UT infections and he's been on Prescription Plan CD for years. Since we started him on that, he has had no further problems.

Good luck with your kitty!

 

[Carl]

We had a cat that had this problem, and even after we put the cat on that special food, we had to close him in with his sand box to encourage him to go to the bathroom. Otherwise he tended to go too long between times and have problems. (I don't mean we kept him closed in all the time, just until he wet the box.)

 

[SideshowBob]

Know about this all too well... my cat Sam had very bad bout with it, and never really did fully recover from it ... and passed away a couple of weeks ago....

 

[chrissyk]

Yes, my male cat has had MANY urinary blockages. We do NOT leave him to go on vacation, unless my sister (very observant) can pet-sit. Either he comes with us or we do not go. It's THAT deadly. He's almost 10, so we are not taking any chances with him.

The special diet was a crock...it did nothing but make him puke. What worked for us was feeding him a natural diet (we use Petguard) and putting vitamin C powder in his food to "acidify" his urine. We are VERY observant of his litterbox habits. If he starts to spend too long in there (first sign that a blockage is coming on), we give him 2 homeopathic treatments called Apis and Arnica. You can buy them at Whole Foods. That generally works pretty quickly. We also give him extra fluids subcutaneously. This "flushes" his bladder. You CANNOT do this if your cat is fully blocked. You can only do it if he is straining and passing urine. Full blockage (passing no urine) is a veternary emergency. Your vet can show you how to do subcutaneous fluids and explain when that is appropriate. We have our own fluid bag, line, and a stash of new, clean needles at home. That kit travels with us wherever we go, since our cat travels with us wherever we go.

We paid a bill of over $1300 the first time that this happened to him. We then switched to a holistic vet, and she taught us how to treat this recurrent issue ourselves. We have only had to have him catherized once over the course of many blockages, and I honestly think that my regular vet would have been able to unblock him w/o the catheter (her partner was working that night). My regular vet also once had to give our cat a dose of Ketamine to relax him, and then she gently squeezed the blockage out and drained his bladder manually. I prefer that to catheterization because there is no risk of bladder puncture or infection, but it takes a VERY experienced vet to do it safely.

Lastly, you can get your cat an operation to have him essentially made into a female down there, which decreases the likelyhood of a blockage. We opted against that because we can manage his condition on our own. The side effect is seriously increased risk of dangerous and symptomless UTI's. As our cat is older, we are too nervous to chance the surgery and the UTI's. Sorry to be so long, but I could write a book on our experiences this topic unfortunately Feel free to PM me if you want any more info.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

In my whole life I've had two cats with this, both when I lived at home years ago. The one I remember best, Zonker, was only 2 when he had his first blockage and we went through the whole treatment--he got another one about 6 months later and we decided to put him to sleep. He was DH's cat (this was before we were married) but we took him in when DH was in the army.
I don't know if this matters, but this is why I've only had female cats since that time. Somehow I think females are less likely to get this.
Robin M.

 

[chrissyk]

I don't know if this matters, but this is why I've only had female cats since that time. Somehow I think females are less likely to get this.
Robin M.

Females cats ARE less likely to get this. It has to do with the "plumbing" of the males. We will only have female cats from now on too. It just hurts my heart too much to think that my boy kitty probably won't live a normal lifespan because of this issue. I don't think that I could stand the pain of seeing another cat go through this for years and years, and then worrying about kidney failure and everything else as time goes on

 

[2BigKIdz]

Thanks for your responses. My cat is scheduled to come home this morning as long as he continues to do well over the night. His catheter was removed this afternoon and he has been urinating on his own. I really was clueless about this when it all started. I thought we would go to the vet and get some medicine and be home that afternoon, I really had no idea how serious and complicated it would get. The cat was fine on Saturday night when we went to bed. I have had many male cats in my life (most all of my cats have been male except 3, 1 that I still have now) and I have never had to deal with this. Of course this is my "baby" and he is just the sweetest cat I have ever had so I will do whatever I have to do to keep him with us as long as he is not in pain. I'm not sure what I am going to do the weekend we are scheduled to go away. We are going to my SIL's, so I could probably take my cat with us, they all love "Bob", but they have flea problems so I really don't want to bring fleas back with me. I'm thinking of leaving him at a kennel in a veterinary office so that if he has problems they will be able to treat him right away. Don't know all of the details about future care until I go pick him up, except that he will need to eat the prescription food. I think it was Hill's brand that they were feeding him.

The emergency vet bill was a little less than $900, he was there from Sunday afternoon til Tuesday morning. Don't know the total for his stay at the regular vet from Tuesday morning til this morning. But the cost is less than originally estimated. (I am so thankful that we have the emergency vet here, it's like an emergency room for pets. There was a couple there on Sunday who had to drive an hour to get there because their city does not have emergency service for pets).

for all that have lost

 

[amid chaos]

We had our youngest kitty at the vet at 2am this morning for a blockage. Very anxious about calling this morning to see how he is doing. and the cost...Holy Cow!

 

[mrsltg]

Our cat had the same problem. Thankfully he's been fine for 4 years since the incident. He eats Purina One for urinary problems and has to drink filtered water to lower the magnesium level. His vet bill was around $1500... worth every penny!

Good luck to you and your fur baby!

Erin

 

[720L]

Our cat had a blockage also. He now eats Science Diet C/D(available from vets) and hasn't had a problem since. It's been 5 years.

 

[chrissyk]

I vote for boarding your cat at the vet when you go away this weekend. They are familiar with what is going on with him, and you'll probably feel much better that he is with people who will notice if he does start to block up again.

 

[amid chaos]

Has anyone heard of a food called "Estes"? it reduces stones. My kitty will be on it for a month and then we will move to C/D. It's tough when one out of 5 cats requires a special diet.

 

[stressed]

Our cat had the same problem. Thankfully he's been fine for 4 years since the incident. He eats Purina One for urinary problems and has to drink filtered water to lower the magnesium level. His vet bill was around $1500... worth every penny!

Good luck to you and your fur baby!

Erin

This is my first post on this web site, so bear with me, I am going to be long winded.

My cat Sydney has been having trouble with blockages. He is 3 years old and I had him on Purina One Healthy Urinary food, but all he did was gain weight. So, I asked my vet and she said that as long as I used a good quality food I should be able to change his food. BIG mistake!! I changed the food about 5 or 6 months ago and now he is having blockages. And it is costing big money. Thankfully my vet is reasonably priced (as much as a vet can be reasonable). Syd blocked a little over a week ago and he was in the vets for 4 days and he came home and just wasn't perking up. I think that he must have still been partially blocked, because then a few days later he blocked totally again. My vet then just unblocked him and sent him home that day. She thought that from the look of the urine that he had turned a corner and was going to be okay. He was more like himself after that. He was eating again and was actually trying to play alittle. That was 2 days ago and then today he seems to be partially blocked again. I tried calling a couple of the local emergency rooms but the cost is unbelievable! My vet is out of town today and tomorrow. I am going to try and get another local vet to just check him tomorrow to see what they think and maybe just treat him enough so I can get to my vet the day after. But, I am worried about the future. How do you stop this? Just put him back on the Purina One? My vet is saying that maybe SD for alittle while and then CD, but I don't think he will eat either. Syd is so fussy! I can't afford to pay these vet bills, but I feel like such a horrible person to even think of putting him to sleep. He is such a good boy!

Sorry for going on so.

 

[Sherri]

My 5 year old male (neutered) has been in the emergency vet hospital since Sunday afternoon with a blockage in his urinary tract. He is doing okay now but still has a catheter and iv's. I have to pick him up this morning and take him to the regular vet to be observed another day or so. Just wondering if anyone has gone through this with a male cat and what I can expect. I know they are giving me a special diet for him. Really worried about leaving him for a planned weekend away in two weeks, our nephew (21 yr old) will house sit but is not the most observant person in the world.

Also, I'm looking at a bill close to $1500 is this a normal price? I was really shocked that it was costing so much, more than tumor removal surgery for my dogs!

Yes- have been through this twice with two different cats. One was my beautiful Louie, I had the worst Vet and in the end that is what killed him. My heart still breaks at how I failed him by taking him to the wrong place.
Next, our stray cat was real ill I took him to the Doctor a better Vet, one that I switched to after we lost Louie. This Vet took our dear cat Peter Cotton Tum from deaths door steps to the healthy cat he is today. He is on a special diet and he is perfect. This happand last December so it has been a long time that he has been healthy. My vet even told me that after being on IV in the Vet hospital for longer then a week that he would need special food but that there are many other brands other then science diet that would work just as well. We get Friskies urinary tract formula. OUr two other cats are boys as well so they all eat the same thing to prevent any urinary tract issues in the future.
I hope your kitty is feeling better soon.

 

[Carl]

We had a cat which had that problem. In addition to putting him on the CD, we also made it a habit of locking him into the bathroom that had his litter box for a short time several times a day. It seemed that he did not "think" to go to the bathroom unless he was locked in there. After we started doing that, he did not have any more trouble for several years with the blockage.